dr_st wrote:ASUS P5Q PRO (would have gotten the PRO Turbo, but it wasn't yet available when I built this system)
Core 2 Extreme QX9650 (some […]
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ASUS P5Q PRO (would have gotten the PRO Turbo, but it wasn't yet available when I built this system)
Core 2 Extreme QX9650 (sometimes overclocked at 3.6GHz)
8GB DDR2-1066 (4x2GB OCZ Reaper sticks)
Zotac GeForce GTX660 (upgraded from the 9600GT which was bought originally when the system was assembled)
*snip*
It's funny how systems can be in the same kind of bracket generation-wise but probably be worlds apart performance-wise. The above system would have kicked ass at the time, I imagine and probably still does quite well. I'm also running a Q9550-based system like those above as my 'main' system now, because I'm always at least two generations of CPU behind by the time I upgrade. So when I first bought this system (which was new at the time, but an upgrade from a S754 Pentium 4 3.2Ghz system) it was definitely the budget end of the spectrum:
Gigabyte GA-EP43-DSL3
Intel Pentium Dual Core E5200
Sapphire Radeon HD4850 512MB
2x Kingston 1GB 800Mhz DDR2
This is literally the most I could justify at the time. The motherboard included the features I was looking for (Firewire was a prerequisite at the time for DV stuff) and was a reconditioned model so was cheap. The CPU is an awesome overclocker on air cooling and cheap. The RAM is probably as expensive now as it was then which is why I haven't upgraded it still. I also got a deal on the video card, which is the highest-end card I've ever bought and it has performed without issue since day one.
I scored the Q9550 upgrade for £30 second hand - it has made a nice difference to the system in the interim. I did buy a Phanteks cooling solution for it (also cheap) as it was running at 80 degrees with the stock cooler. This was probably because I was using the one that came with the E5200 🤣. It is also overclocked. For some reason I also bought a second 4850 recently just because it was cheap, even though my board doesn't support CrossfireX so it's still in the box. So what next?
Option 1: get a 775 board that will support twin GPUs to get a jump in graphics performance (these are not cheap) and get more RAM (also not cheap) but be stuck on the same architecture as a result.
Option 2: get a newer socket with an older CPU that can overclock well and supports CrossfireX (I know that a 6850 would be a better solution but I'm not buying a new graphics card now) and get more RAM for less than the DDR2 would cost.
Option 1 obviously represents the absolute end of the line for value-worthy upgrade options on that platform. Option 2 represents the bottom rung of the next generation piecemeal upgradeable system.
Whenever it comes to the upgrade point it takes me weeks of research to catch up with the latest stuff, and then work out what's what and where's the best place to get it, until I've sourced all the parts for a system that is absolutely best value for money.
I have been doing the same thing since 1995!
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